The Bard Of Light
by Howling Armadillo
Summary: The Bard of Light. One who invites destruction through Light. What it means seems simple, and yet there is much more to the role than one would think. I will tell you what it means to invite such destruction. I am the Bard. It is me.


This is inspired by a story on Archive of Our Own called The Game, and Those who Play. It's a piece I wrote about my own class (dictated to me through many online quizzes.)

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The Bard is one who invites destruction through their aspect. They will watch as the world rips itself apart and laugh. To be a bard means that you don't wield your aspect. Instead, you master it in other ways. The bard must be able to twist the facets of their powers in ways that can bring oblivion to their foes without using them outright. In other words, the perfect Bard must be subtle, only striking at the most opportune of moments, and manipulating the game in ways nobody can fully realize until it's too late.

And the aspect of light is paradoxically the subtlest of all.

I am the Bard of Light. I wield the aspect of light, and use it to destroy my enemies indirectly. And to do this properly means to know the aspect of light inside and out, on a level beyond what all other aspects can achieve. An heir moves on instinct, as does a witch. Thieves are impulsive, taking without understanding. A knight wields their aspect like a tool, and a prince like a cannon. Even seers can watch through their aspect without fully understanding what they're seeing.

Light is about chance. Fortune favors the light player, and as such they will find things far easier than others. A light player will catch onto the game easily, and can excel where other players would struggle, even with the most mundane of weapons. But this is because there are aspects of light that stretch far beyond mere luck. Luck doesn't really matter in the end. If a light player allows themselves to rely purely on luck, they will never reach their full potential.

Light is not random. Light does not move on a whim. When a star is born, it does not pick a direction to shine in. It glows in all directions, a burning ball of energy that you can see from any angle. And every beam of light that extends from a star travels in a single straight direction. This is because while some would interpret light as being related to luck, it is in fact about the exact opposite. Light is certainty.

Why else would one who has come to a realization be described as "seeing the light"? Light is about truth, and light is about the proper order of things. This is why, for better or for worse, light players rarely deviate from the alpha. The alpha timeline is certainty incarnate, and light players have an innate sense of how to fulfill it. While other classes can create doomed timelines effortlessly, at the mere flip of a coin, light players cause doomed timelines by breaking the rules of the game in the most severe of ways. And even then it tends to lead to their death.

These are all things that I have learned as I played this game over the course of my life. The truth of this game has been apparent to me from before I could walk, the nature of my abilities open to me since I was a child. The game, and those who play it, are both constants in their respective universes. You start playing the moment you are born from the paradox slime, and the world you grow up in is rooted in the game from its youth as well. A light player can use this to their advantage better than any other.

All players can access their powers on some level before they reach the game universe. This tends to happen through intuition or understanding. As a light player, understanding is everything to me.

When your powers rely on the truth, you are capable of terrible things from an early age. My words have a tendency to hurt, my thoughts harsh and cruel, much like the world itself. And while in my youth I could only infuriate people with my knowledge, over time it matured. A man who insulted me was reduced to an emotional wreck. Somebody who mocked my family was left crying.

As time went on I became all the more observant. The more I saw of a person, the more I was able to glean of them. The more I could see the truth of them, those dark secrets that hid away in the pit of their hearts. And I dragged those secrets screaming into the light. The truth can be dangerous if you know what to do with it. I don't have to do anything more than tell somebody what I've learned of them, and then watch as they tear themselves apart in agony.

And then, one day, the game began, and I found myself using my powers in whole new ways. The imps, the agents, and even my own denizen, all proved incapable of stopping me. Their strikes missed me. Their words rolled off of me, and as time went on, I became increasingly unkillable.

They strike at me, and I step aside. They shoot at me, and I know where the bullets will go. It took me little effort to use that information. When they charge at me, they walk into oblivion. Their attacks from afar strike the foes behind me, or even bounce back. All I need do is step in the right spot, move my head just so, and watch as my enemy destroys themselves. I'm never wrong in my choice, because I have certainty as my weapon, and truth as my shield.

And when I do things that my friends deem wrong, kill people who they didn't want to die, I wield truth against them too. They face me, and see that I am right. Nothing is more persuasive than the truth, after all. And I am truth itself.

The pain of secrets made real, the inevitability of death, and the power of always having luck on your side. These are the powers I wield, the weapons I hold. I am the Bard of Light, and I know what it means to hold reality in the palm of my hand. Deviate from my goals, and doom awaits you. Follow the path I see though, and the truth will set you free.


End file.
